topic Re: Amex Spg / Bonvoy advice in Credit Cards

Amex Spg / Bonvoy advice

AverageJoesCredit — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 14:26:46 GMT

Hey guys. I figured id start a thread for my reference and look forward to your advice. As you know i recently got this card , approved for $1k and i believe im eligble for the Sub , $3k spend in 3 months, 75k points.

Im in a dilemma as to whether or not to really pursue this SUB , especially on only a 1k limit card. Can you advise me on what this bonus may be worth ? I really got the card for a free night to relax , i know, im not the sanest person lol.

Im low income , dont travel but like anything in credit, sometimes like to try something new. Trying to figure out if its best to just put my spend elsewhere. First year has no af so im ok there for now.

I know the usual caveat that if you dont travel, etc why get a travel card so i ask kindly to be gentle and if possible just offer some sound advice or experiences. Thanks much appreciated

Re: Amex Spg / Bonvoy advice

NRB525 — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 14:46:55 GMT

Always go for the SUB.

In this case, your annual free night will be up to 35,000 points. So completing the $3k spend gets you 81,000 additional points, so depending on whether you go to a 35,000 point hotel or 25,000 point hotel, you get the free night plus two or three additional night.

Hotel stays are most enjoyable when you can spend more than one night in one place.

Re: Amex Spg / Bonvoy advice

xaximus — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 14:47:41 GMT

@AverageJoesCredit wrote:
Hey guys. I figured id start a thread for my reference and look forward to your advice. As you know i recently got this card , approved for $1k and i believe im eligble for the Sub , $3k spend in 3 months, 75k points.

Im in a dilemma as to whether or not to really pursue this SUB , especially on only a 1k limit card. Can you advise me on what this bonus may be worth ? I really got the card for a free night to relax , i know, im not the sanest person lol.

Im low income , dont travel but like anything in credit, sometimes like to try something new. Trying to figure out if its best to just put my spend elsewhere. First year has no af so im ok there for now.

I know the usual caveat that if you dont travel, etc why get a travel card so i ask kindly to be gentle and if possible just offer some sound advice or experiences. Thanks much appreciated

@AverageJoesCredit wants some advice?!?! I didn't think this day would come!! haha - joking mate.

I'm sure you know, after 60 days, you can get a CLI with AmEx. Personally, I think it's worth getting the bonus since the 75k points is worth 1-2 nights? (I think, i'm still thawing out from being in the cold). Plus, you get the annual 1 free night so, that and the points can be a 2-3 night getaway.

Re: Amex Spg / Bonvoy advice

AverageJoesCredit — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 14:59:12 GMT

@NRB525 wrote:
Always go for the SUB.

In this case, your annual free night will be up to 35,000 points. So completing the $3k spend gets you 81,000 additional points, so depending on whether you go to a 35,000 point hotel or 25,000 point hotel, you get the free night plus two or three additional night.

Hotel stays are most enjoyable when you can spend more than one night in one place.

Thank you @NRB525 ,thats goid to know. Could really make a baby vacation just that more enjoyable

Re: Amex Spg / Bonvoy advice

AverageJoesCredit — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 15:02:23 GMT

@xaximus wrote:
@AverageJoesCredit wrote:
Hey guys. I figured id start a thread for my reference and look forward to your advice. As you know i recently got this card , approved for $1k and i believe im eligble for the Sub , $3k spend in 3 months, 75k points.

Im in a dilemma as to whether or not to really pursue this SUB , especially on only a 1k limit card. Can you advise me on what this bonus may be worth ? I really got the card for a free night to relax , i know, im not the sanest person lol.

Im low income , dont travel but like anything in credit, sometimes like to try something new. Trying to figure out if its best to just put my spend elsewhere. First year has no af so im ok there for now.

I know the usual caveat that if you dont travel, etc why get a travel card so i ask kindly to be gentle and if possible just offer some sound advice or experiences. Thanks much appreciated
@AverageJoesCredit wants some advice?!?! I didn't think this day would come!! haha - joking mate.

I'm sure you know, after 60 days, you can get a CLI with AmEx. Personally, I think it's worth getting the bonus since the 75k points is worth 1-2 nights? (I think, i'm still thawing out from being in the cold). Plus, you get the annual 1 free night so, that and the points can be a 2-3 night getaway.

LOL, indeed 😄

Re: Amex Spg / Bonvoy advice

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 15:56:19 GMT

@AverageJoesCredit wrote:

Thank you @NRB525 ,thats goid to know. Could really make a baby vacation just that more enjoyable

AJC, I’m sorry, I have no advice on this subject. But, this made me chuckle.

Yes, I’m 12 years old....at heart.

Re: Amex Spg / Bonvoy advice

iced — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 16:13:53 GMT

Hotel points act about the opposite of airline points. I've found that whereas with airlines the best value comes on the most expensive tickets (international premium cabin), the cheapest road-side Marriotts tend to get the best point valuation, so you could conceivably push those points quite far.

I have redeemed at $750/night properties for 50,000 per night, and I have redeemed at $125 Fairfields/TownPlaces for 7,500 per night. Breaking that down to cpp valuation, that's 1.5 cpp for the high-end and 1.67 for the low-end places. If your occasional travel is less inspirational, you can push those points into a week or more worth of hotel stay if you find a decent Cat 1/2 hotel and use the 5th night free option.

Re: Amex Spg / Bonvoy advice

odd_dog — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 16:28:57 GMT

Congrats on the card again! I would go for the sub. With low income and low CL I would put everything on the card that I could, pay it down asap and rinse and repeat. I would love to see you vegging by the pool on a free stay!!!! You deserve it....

Re: Amex Spg / Bonvoy advice

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 16:42:57 GMT

What the SUB is worth depends on how you spend it. You can blow it on one night at as nice of a resort as you can imagine. Or do what I plan on doing and get 10 nights out of it at 7500 point hotels. To me what kind of hotel it is doesn't matter. I'm as happy in a crappy hotel as a nice one. A bed is a bed. So me getting 10 nights out of it is well worth it. If I only got one night out of it, it wouldn't be worth it.

Re: Amex Spg / Bonvoy advice

Shadowfactor — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 17:41:06 GMT

Not very knowledgeable on SPG/Mariott but based on all the discussion i've seen on mariott points, the value seems to sit around .8-1CPP. I know several people that can acheive more out of them but I believe thats high end bookings or vacation packages with airfare.

I would go for the sub. even at a modest .8 CPP thats $600 in value free hotel stays. There's some lower end mariotts that have quite reasonable redemption values. Do a weekend roadtrip. Traveling doesn't have to be expensive.

Re: Amex Spg / Bonvoy advice

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 18:07:13 GMT

First of all, congrats on the shiny new Card! Do you not have any other Amex products that you could transfer some CL from?

I don't see anything in your siggy.

While it may be tough to achieve with a $1K CL, I would defintely meet the SUB. Otherise it's like saying no to a few free nights, depending on lacation of course. Remember that after 30 days you can make multiple payments to bring your balance back down. So even if you max it out in one transaction, you can PIF and do it again. The only hickup is that Amex isn't as widely accepted as Visa/MC, so no rent payments or some utilities. But if you timed it right, there's Auto Insurance. Good Luck!

Re: Amex Spg / Bonvoy advice

AverageJoesCredit — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 18:16:24 GMT

Thanks everybody, very helpful suggestions. Appreciate the words @odd_dog

I do have other Amex products@Janus. I currently have ED -2700 , BCE- 2000, and Magnet - 5000. . I did make my first charge today, and actually made about $300 in charges doing some car maintenance.

As ive been trying to maintain pif with Amex a question if i might. In order to get a SUB, does the spend have to be paid in full or is it mainly achieving the 3k in spend?

Re: Amex Spg / Bonvoy advice

odd_dog — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 18:19:30 GMT

@AverageJoesCredit wrote:
Thanks everybody, very helpful suggestions. Appreciate the words @odd_dog

I do have other Amex products@Janus. I currently have ED -2700 , BCE- 2000, and Magnet - 5000. . I did make my first charge today, and actually made about $300 in charges doing some car maintenance.

As ive been trying to maintain pif with Amex a question if i might. In order to get a SUB, does the spend have to be paid in full or is it mainly achieving the 3k in spend?

My experience is no you do not have to pay off just make the spend requirement, I know this was the case with my Schwab investor card as it also came with a 0% for 6 months, I put a lot on that for the 0% got the bonus and still have a balance as my 0% does not end for a few more months....

Re: Amex Spg / Bonvoy advice

HeavenOhio — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 18:23:25 GMT

Technically, you should be able to revolve a balance. Of course, that's not practical when you're trying to reach a 3k sign-up bonus on a 1k limit.

Re: Amex Spg / Bonvoy advice

HeavenOhio — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 18:25:33 GMT

Just another thought. If it would make things easier, you could transfer some of the limit from one of your other cards.

Re: Amex Spg / Bonvoy advice

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 18:45:27 GMT

Nope, you could technically charge the whole $3K in the first week to meet the SUB. And then carry that balance through then end of the 0% APR promo. In which case you would need a higher CL, but you do not need to pay the charge off to qualify for the SUB. As long as the charges meet their requirements "purchases".

It also helps to keep an eye on Amex Offers to see if any purchase will qualify for statement credits. Nice to pay them back with their own Money. lol

Re: Amex Spg / Bonvoy advice

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 20:43:28 GMT

@Shadowfactor wrote:
Not very knowledgeable on SPG/Mariott but based on all the discussion i've seen on mariott points, the value seems to sit around .8-1CPP. I know several people that can acheive more out of them but I believe thats high end bookings or vacation packages with airfare.

I would go for the sub. even at a modest .8 CPP thats $600 in value free hotel stays. There's some lower end mariotts that have quite reasonable redemption values. Do a weekend roadtrip. Traveling doesn't have to be expensive.

The trick for maximum value is the 5th night free on award stays. For example staying at a local beach in summer rate is $750 a night. 5 nights would be $3500. The cost is 200k points. I have gotten 600k Marriott points in the last year and a half.

I do think their rates are going up soon though. And they are implementing seasonal rates too where the best deals will be gone. I have seen a lot of hotels in NYC for 35k points and rates $500 or more. But I think the point rate is going up later this month.

As for the original poster. Yes obviously the points are worth it. You could always do a Marriott moment with the points.

Re: Amex Spg / Bonvoy advice

AverageJoesCredit — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 20:56:05 GMT

Thank you. Good viewpoints. Ill definitely check on moving limits when i get home to see what comes out better.

Re: Amex Spg / Bonvoy advice

SouthJamaica — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 21:42:13 GMT

@AverageJoesCredit wrote:
Hey guys. I figured id start a thread for my reference and look forward to your advice. As you know i recently got this card , approved for $1k and i believe im eligble for the Sub , $3k spend in 3 months, 75k points.

Im in a dilemma as to whether or not to really pursue this SUB , especially on only a 1k limit card. Can you advise me on what this bonus may be worth ? I really got the card for a free night to relax , i know, im not the sanest person lol.

Im low income , dont travel but like anything in credit, sometimes like to try something new. Trying to figure out if its best to just put my spend elsewhere. First year has no af so im ok there for now.

I know the usual caveat that if you dont travel, etc why get a travel card so i ask kindly to be gentle and if possible just offer some sound advice or experiences. Thanks much appreciated

For the type of hotels I stay in, which are basically budget hotels, I find their points are worth about 1/3 of a cent each. 75,000 points would get me 2 to 3 nights. I just checked one the other day and it was 35,000 points; if I paid cash it would be $113. 113/35000=.00323

So figure the SUB is worth $242, which is an 8% return on the $3k spend. So I guess the answer is yes... 8% is better than we usually get from regular reward card use.

Re: Amex Spg / Bonvoy advice

Anonymous — Fri, 08 Mar 2019 02:45:46 GMT

@AverageJoesCredit wrote:
I currently have ED -2700 , BCE- 2000, and Magnet - 5000

Thank you. Good viewpoints. Ill definitely check on moving limits when i get home to see what comes out better.

Keep in mind that CL reallocations aren't permanent, so you can always move it back to the donor card after the spend. If you find that you're not using the SPG that much. IDK which cash card you use most often, but I'd borrow $3-4K from the Magnet until after the spend is met to allow a little breathing room. Then just move it back, especially before a CLI.